Transmission mechanism



L. H. KEIM.

TRANSMISSlON MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED FEB, 1.1918.

Patented Oct. 17, 1922.

gHEETSSHEET I.

INVENTOR v 1651?)" /7. #62722.

WITNESSES: $776M ATTORNEY L. H. KEIM.

TRANSMISSION MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I. 1918.

1,431,958., Patented Oct. 17,1922,

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mwsmmmq INVENTOR Zasfer /2 hejm ATTORNEY citizen of the United Patented@ct. 117, 19212.

earner cation.

LESTER, n. KEIM, or cnrcaeo, rnmnors, Assrenoa TO R. conrona'rron orPENNSYLVANIA.

D. NUTTALL COMPANY, A

TRANSMISSION MECHANISM.

Application filed February 1, 1918. Serial No. 214,810.

of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to transmission mechanisms for vehicles, and theprincipal object of the same is to provide a transmission that shall beparticularly suitable for use on comparatively heavy-duty vehicles, suchas tractors and trucks.

. .Another object of this invention is to provide a completely enclosedchange-speed and reduction gearing in which distortion strains in thecasing and gearing are greatly reduced by arranging the parts of thetransmission gearing symmetrically with respect to the longitudinalcentral plane of the casing.

r A further object of the invention is to provide a compact, ruggedtransmission mechanism in which the change-speed gearin and thedifferential gearing are totally enc osed in a dust-excluding casingthat is adapted to contain oil for lubricating the wearing parts of themechanis Another object is to provide a reduction gearing that shallinclude a counter-shaft of novel construction, consisting of a toothedsleeve carrying'change-speed gears on opposite sides of the toothedportion of the sleeve.

Another object of the invention is to provide an enclosing casing forthe transmission mechanism which shall have detachable parts so that themembers within the casing may be readily examined, removed or replaced.-

The above and other objects and the novel features of the'invention willbe apparent from the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying draw ing in which Fig. l is a plan view of a tractorequipped with a transmissibn mechanism embodying this invention; Fig. 2is a side elevation, on a larger scale, of a transmission casingembodying my invention, parts within the casing being indicated 1ndotted lines; Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the transmimionmechanism taken on the line III-III of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a verticalsectional view of the mechanism taken on the line IVIV of Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1, the invention is shown E when the as applied to acommon t e of as-en 'nedriven farm tractor, but ilz is to be u derstoodthat the invention may be applied to other types of vehicles, as will bereadily understood by those skilled in the art. The tractorullustratedcomprises a frame F of any suitable construction supported, at its rearend, -on a rear axle A, carried by the main tractor wheels IV. The frontend of the frame F is mounted on the axle a, which 1s supported bythefront steering wheels w. An internal-combustion engine E, of anysultable type, is mounted on cross braces 10 secured to side members ofthe frame F at the front end thereof. The crank shaft (not shown) of theengine E extends into a fly-wheel-and-clutch housin H that is bolted tothe flange 1.1' at the ront end of the combined change-s eedtransmission and differential casing o e casing C is substantiallyrectan ular and trough-shaped, embodying paralle side walls 12 and 18,end walls 14': and 15' and a bottom wall 16. The front end of the casmgC has an opening 16 within the flange 1 1, and a removable cap 17 coversthe opening 16 and also provides a bearing for a propeller shaft 18 thatextends into the front end of the casing. The opening 16 is ofsuflicient size to permit the insertlon and removal therethrough of abevel inion 19 secured to the inner tapered en of the propeller shaft18. The propeller shaft 18 is connected to a clutch mechanism (notshown) in the bell housing H, and bearings 20, between the flange 21 ofthe cover and the hub of the pinion 19, rotatabl support the propellershaft in the cap 17 The bevel pinion or gear 19 meshes with a bevelpinion or gear 22 keyed to a driving shaft 23 that is rotatablysupported in bearings 24 and 25 in the removable caps 26 and 27,respectively. The caps 26 and 27 fit in openings in the side walls 12and 13, respectively, of the transmission casin C The cap 27 has anopening 28 exten ing therethrough, and' the outer end of the shaft 23passes through the said opening and is supported by a bearing 29 mountedon a side memberof the frame F. The end of the shaft 23 that. projectsoutside the frame F is arranged to carry a pulley P that is used fordriving farm machinery from the engine vehicle isstationary. The cap 27and the bearing 29 are connected by a sleeve 30 that encloses the shaft23 and also 5 ion 31 and a low-speed spur pinion 32 splined on the partthereof between the bevel gear 22 and the opposite wall of the casing.The hi h and low-speed pinions 31 and 32 are adapted to be movedlongitudinally of the shaft 23 into, and out of, mesh with the high andlow-speed gears 33 and 34 by a mechanism to be described. The high andlow-speed gears 33 and 34 are keyed to a sleeve 35 supported-by bearings36 on the 15 countershaft 37 that is secured in a stationary position inthe side walls 12 and 13 by a set screw 38. The length of the sleeve 35is substantially the same as the distance between the walls 12 and 13,sufficient clearance being allowed at each end, and the gears 33 and 34have hollow hubs that are I keyed to the opposite ends of the sleeve. A

circular row of spur gear teeth is cut on that 3 part of the sleevebetween the gears 33 and 25 34 to form a sleeve pinion 39 rotatable bythe gears 33 and 34.

The sleeve pinion 39 is located substantially in the longitudinalcentral 'plane of the gear case C and meshes with an external spur gear40 of a differential mechanism D also symmetrically disposed withrespect to the longitudinal central plane of the transmission casing.The external gear 40 of the differential D is bolted to the differentialspider 41 which carries the three differential bevel pinions 43.- Thedifferential bevel pin-- ions 43 mesh with two opposing differentialbevel" gears 44 and 45 secured to the driven shafts or axles 46 ant 47,respectively. The differential side plates 42 absorb the thrust of thebevel gears 44 and 45 and hold them in place. The differential gears 44and 45 are provided with cylindrical hub flanges 48 and 49 whichsurround the inner ends of the bearings 50 and 51. The bearings 50 and51 are carried by inwardly extending flanges 52 and 53 on the sleeves 54and 55 that surround the axles 46 and 47 and carry outer bearings 56 and57 mounted on the side parts of the framev F -so as to support the saidaxles. The inner ends of the axle sleeves 54 and 55 are bolted toflanges surrounding openings in the side walls 12. and 13 of the casingC to support the rear end of the latter on the frame F, and the bearings50 and 51 are confined axially by the differential housing and byinwardly extendin flanges 58 and 59 of the sleeves 54.and 55 isposedperpendicular to the flanges 52 and 53, respec tively. The outer ends ofthe axles 46 and 47 carry the bull pinions b that mesh with internalbull gears 'B on the tractor wheels W'.

The side walls of the casing C ,are proaxles 46 and 47' and support thelatter in A cover 1s bolted to, and'closes, the

trough-like case C at the top. The cover 65 has an'opening 66 to admitan arm 67 for operating the yokes 68 and 69 which have forked portionsfitting in grooves on the hubs of the change-speed pinions'31 and 32,respectively. The yokes 68 and 69 are carried by rods 70 and 71,respectively, slidably mounted in the cover '65 below the opening 66.The shifting arm 67 is rigidly secured to, and is longitudinally movableby, a rotatable shifting rod 72 which extends rearwardly to a pointwhere it will be accessible to the operator of the vehicle. The forwardend of the shift rod 72 is slidable and rotatable in bearings 73 in acap member 74 that is bolted to the cover '65 over the opening 66. Theshifting arm 67 is movable into, and out of, engagement with the forkedopen ends 681 and 691 of the shifting yokes 68 and 69 and, by arotatable movement of either the one or the other of the latter, thechange-speed pinion which it engages may be moved into or out of meshwith its co-operating change-speed gear. The spring-pressed pins 682 and692 serve to lock the rods 70 and 71in their adjusted construction indetail, it is tobe understood that various changes may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit of the invention and, therefore, I donot Wish my invention to be restricted-exceptas required by the appendedclaims.

I claim as my invention: 1. In a change-speed and differentialtransmission mechanism for motor tractors, the combination with a casinghaving openings in its side walls, of a pair of axiallyalined drivenaxles extending through said openings into said casing, a differentialmechanism in said casing connectedto both of said axles and having anexternal gear ,tatable driving shaft located substantially in thecentral longitudinal vertical plane of said casing, a rotatabledriving'shaft anda fixed countershaft supported by shaft extendingoutside said casing on one side thereof and provided with a power pulleyon its outer end, a rotatable sleeve on said counter-shaft, change-speedpinions slidable on said driving shaft, change-speed gears secured onsaid sleeve and a pinion driven by said gears and meshing with theexternal gear of the differential mechanism.

2. In a change-speed and diflerential transmission mechanism for motortractors, the combination with a casing having openings in its sidewalls, of a pair of axiall alined driven axles extending through saidopenings into said casing, a differential mechanism in said casingconnected to both of said axles and having an external gear locatedsubstantially in the central longitudinal vertical plane of said casing,a roand a fixed countershaft supported by said walls, said driving shaftextending outside said casing on one side thereof and provided with apower pulley on its outer end, means for supporting the driving shaft ata point intermediate the pulley and the adjacent wall of the saidcasing, a rotatable sleeve on said countershaft, change-speed pinionsslidable on said said walls, said driving driving shaft, change-speedgears secured on said sleeve and a pinion driven by said gears andmeshing with the external gear of the difierential mechanism.

3. In a transmission mechanism for motor vehicles, the combination witha casing, of a driving shaft and a counter-shaft carried by the sidewalls of said casing, changespeed gears on one of said shafts,changespeed pinions on the other shaft, driven shafts journalled inthe-side walls of said casing and having'their axes in the same planewith the axes of the driving shaft and counter-shaft, a reversingcounter-shaft in said casing below the plane of the other shafts,reversing pinions-on said reversing shaft, a differential mechanism insaid casing connected to said driven shafts and comprising an externalgear, and a pinion on said first counter-shaft, meshing with saidexternal gear and rotatable by the change speed members on said firstcounter-shaft, said external gear and pinion being symmetricallydisposed with respect to the central longitudinal vertical plane of saidcaslng.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 15th dayof June, 1918.

. LESTER H. KEIM.

